Photo by: CUBuffs.com
Wetmore-Wednesday Top Races: Buffs Win 2004 Men’s and Women’s NCAA XC Titles
June 03, 2020 | Cross Country, Track and Field
BOULDER – The Colorado track and field and cross country program has a special history, one that began to hit full-stride under head coach Mark Wetmore.
CU track and field and cross country will take a look back at every year under Wetmore and recap the best races and teams of every calendar year.
On Monday, November 22, 2004, the Buffaloes became just the third program to capture both men's and women's NCAA Cross Country Championships, a feat that has not been accomplished since that day. The championships marked the second time both teams had won a national championship, bringing Wetmore's team total to four (at that time).
A STRONG START
In a championship where a team needed to run a perfect race, the Colorado women got the ball rolling when the then-third-ranked Buffs did just that to claim the first of two titles on the day, their first since the 2000 season.
The women, paced by Renee Metivier's second career national runner-up finish, placed all five runners in the top-30, to score a then-program best 63 points (it took 117 to win in '00), 81 points ahead of runner-up Duke (144), Providence (164), Notre Dame (170) and pre-race favorite Stanford (175). The margin was the fourth largest in championship history at the time.
The already damp and slightly heavy course on Sunday was worsened by overnight and early morning rains that subsided by the start of the women's race and the skies were clear for the start of the men's, conditions that obviously played in favor of the Buffs.
With Providence's Kim Smith in control of the individual title, the team title was up for grabs as early as the halfway mark. Smith was running a 9:52.7 pace at the 3k mark, followed by Metivier (10:05) and BYU's Laura Turner (10:14). Just four points separated the Buffs and Stanford at that mark, with Sara Slattery 16th and Christine Bolf 18th.
Smith won the individual race by over 17 seconds, but Metivier hung on for second-place to give CU a good start in the team scoring race. Metivier's finish was expected, but what happened after could be considered the best surprise of the day. Freshman Liza Pasciuto finished as CU's No. 2 runner for the first time in her career, finishing 13th. Her finish was the second-best by a CU freshman in program history, second only to Sara (Gorton) Slattery's eighth-place freshman effort in '00.
"Coming in I was trying my best to try and score and help the team achieve the goals that we set at the beginning of the season," said Pasciuto. "But I'm definitely thrilled with my finish. I couldn't have asked for more. I hope to come back next year and do it again."
Bolf (20:48.1) ran to her first All-American title in the fall with a 14th-place finish, a career-best for the junior that finished 63rd a year ago. In the final race of her collegiate career, fifth-year senior Slattery finished 28th and came away as an All-American for the third time in her career. She is also the only runner in the program's storied history to be a member of two national championship teams, as she was a freshman on that 2000 squad.
Natalie Florence (21:07.2) rounded out CU's scoring, finishing 30th overall for her second All-American title.
"Our race plan was to try and be patient and not fight the conditions (which changed dramatically overnight). By the 600-meter, mark they had over-ruled my plan and my hope was that they held on. They kept going, so I'm glad that they overlooked my instructions," said Wetmore.
FOLLOWING THE WOMEN'S LEAD
Not to be outdone by their counterparts, the Colorado men capped what would be the best day in the program's storied history with their second title in four years.
The men's race was a battle for both the individual and team titles from the start. At the halfway point, a lead pack of 10-plus runners was separated by one second with Arkansas' Josphat Boit in the lead at 15:16.1 and the 10th place runner at 15:17.1, with Brent Vaughn (15:25) in 15th and Bret Schoolmeester (15:26) 19th. Vaughn took sole possession of fourth place at the 8k turn, having caught 13 runners in a 3k span, while Schoolmeester chased down 12 and would hang on to finish fifth overall to give the Buffs two in the top five. At that point, Wisconsin had control of the team race with 80 points to Arkansas' 160, followed by Colorado.
Senior Jon Severy made up as much ground as anyone on Monday, as he was 39th midway through the race. By the time he reached the 8k split, he had worked his way up to 25th. As a member of CU's 2001 championship team, he was looking to become the first men's runner in CU history to race on two national championship teams. He was a freshman in 2001 when CU won its first title, so he knew what it was going to take to win another team championship. He dug deep and ended up finishing 21st for the Buffaloes in 31:27.
"It was an incredible note to start on," said Severy. "I was carried through a little bit on that 2001 team and it gave me a false sense of what it meant to be on a good team. Since then, I've sunk pretty low and learned an incredible amount of what is necessary to sacrifice for your team and carry it out. Today was just so perfect that I can't describe it."
Newcomers Stephen Pifer and James Strang rounded out the scoring for the CU men. Pifer ran 31:56.8 to finish 44th, while Strang ran 31:59.9 for 49th.
"The front two ran as well as I thought they possibly could and Jon ran way better than I would have expected. All of the five scorers ran better than my most optimistic aspirations," said Wetmore.
PAST TOP RACES:
2003: RITZENHEIN RACES TO THE TITLE (FINISH VIDEO)
2002: TORRES CEMENTS LEGACY (VIDEO)
2001: CU MEN CAPTURE FIRST TITLE (VIDEO)
2000: KARA GRGAS-WHEELER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
1999: JAMES DAVIS 1999 4x400-METER RELAY ALL-AMERICAN
1998: ADAM GOUCHER 1998 CROSS COUNTRY NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP (VIDEO) (5,000) (3,000)
1997: ADAM GOUCHER INDOOR 3,000 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
1996: ALAN CULPEPPER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 5,000/ WOMEN'S BIG EIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
(VIDEO)
CU track and field and cross country will take a look back at every year under Wetmore and recap the best races and teams of every calendar year.
On Monday, November 22, 2004, the Buffaloes became just the third program to capture both men's and women's NCAA Cross Country Championships, a feat that has not been accomplished since that day. The championships marked the second time both teams had won a national championship, bringing Wetmore's team total to four (at that time).
A STRONG START
In a championship where a team needed to run a perfect race, the Colorado women got the ball rolling when the then-third-ranked Buffs did just that to claim the first of two titles on the day, their first since the 2000 season.
The women, paced by Renee Metivier's second career national runner-up finish, placed all five runners in the top-30, to score a then-program best 63 points (it took 117 to win in '00), 81 points ahead of runner-up Duke (144), Providence (164), Notre Dame (170) and pre-race favorite Stanford (175). The margin was the fourth largest in championship history at the time.
The already damp and slightly heavy course on Sunday was worsened by overnight and early morning rains that subsided by the start of the women's race and the skies were clear for the start of the men's, conditions that obviously played in favor of the Buffs.
With Providence's Kim Smith in control of the individual title, the team title was up for grabs as early as the halfway mark. Smith was running a 9:52.7 pace at the 3k mark, followed by Metivier (10:05) and BYU's Laura Turner (10:14). Just four points separated the Buffs and Stanford at that mark, with Sara Slattery 16th and Christine Bolf 18th.
Smith won the individual race by over 17 seconds, but Metivier hung on for second-place to give CU a good start in the team scoring race. Metivier's finish was expected, but what happened after could be considered the best surprise of the day. Freshman Liza Pasciuto finished as CU's No. 2 runner for the first time in her career, finishing 13th. Her finish was the second-best by a CU freshman in program history, second only to Sara (Gorton) Slattery's eighth-place freshman effort in '00.
"Coming in I was trying my best to try and score and help the team achieve the goals that we set at the beginning of the season," said Pasciuto. "But I'm definitely thrilled with my finish. I couldn't have asked for more. I hope to come back next year and do it again."
Bolf (20:48.1) ran to her first All-American title in the fall with a 14th-place finish, a career-best for the junior that finished 63rd a year ago. In the final race of her collegiate career, fifth-year senior Slattery finished 28th and came away as an All-American for the third time in her career. She is also the only runner in the program's storied history to be a member of two national championship teams, as she was a freshman on that 2000 squad.
Natalie Florence (21:07.2) rounded out CU's scoring, finishing 30th overall for her second All-American title.
"Our race plan was to try and be patient and not fight the conditions (which changed dramatically overnight). By the 600-meter, mark they had over-ruled my plan and my hope was that they held on. They kept going, so I'm glad that they overlooked my instructions," said Wetmore.
FOLLOWING THE WOMEN'S LEAD
Not to be outdone by their counterparts, the Colorado men capped what would be the best day in the program's storied history with their second title in four years.
The men's race was a battle for both the individual and team titles from the start. At the halfway point, a lead pack of 10-plus runners was separated by one second with Arkansas' Josphat Boit in the lead at 15:16.1 and the 10th place runner at 15:17.1, with Brent Vaughn (15:25) in 15th and Bret Schoolmeester (15:26) 19th. Vaughn took sole possession of fourth place at the 8k turn, having caught 13 runners in a 3k span, while Schoolmeester chased down 12 and would hang on to finish fifth overall to give the Buffs two in the top five. At that point, Wisconsin had control of the team race with 80 points to Arkansas' 160, followed by Colorado.
Senior Jon Severy made up as much ground as anyone on Monday, as he was 39th midway through the race. By the time he reached the 8k split, he had worked his way up to 25th. As a member of CU's 2001 championship team, he was looking to become the first men's runner in CU history to race on two national championship teams. He was a freshman in 2001 when CU won its first title, so he knew what it was going to take to win another team championship. He dug deep and ended up finishing 21st for the Buffaloes in 31:27.
"It was an incredible note to start on," said Severy. "I was carried through a little bit on that 2001 team and it gave me a false sense of what it meant to be on a good team. Since then, I've sunk pretty low and learned an incredible amount of what is necessary to sacrifice for your team and carry it out. Today was just so perfect that I can't describe it."
Newcomers Stephen Pifer and James Strang rounded out the scoring for the CU men. Pifer ran 31:56.8 to finish 44th, while Strang ran 31:59.9 for 49th.
"The front two ran as well as I thought they possibly could and Jon ran way better than I would have expected. All of the five scorers ran better than my most optimistic aspirations," said Wetmore.
PAST TOP RACES:
2003: RITZENHEIN RACES TO THE TITLE (FINISH VIDEO)
2002: TORRES CEMENTS LEGACY (VIDEO)
2001: CU MEN CAPTURE FIRST TITLE (VIDEO)
2000: KARA GRGAS-WHEELER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
1999: JAMES DAVIS 1999 4x400-METER RELAY ALL-AMERICAN
1998: ADAM GOUCHER 1998 CROSS COUNTRY NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP (VIDEO) (5,000) (3,000)
1997: ADAM GOUCHER INDOOR 3,000 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
1996: ALAN CULPEPPER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 5,000/ WOMEN'S BIG EIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
(VIDEO)
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